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MOUNT PINATUBO: One of Philippines Tourist Attraction

Today, I want to share my experience in Tarlac, how I reached this place and witnessed the horrific eruption and how this turned me into a Pinatubo Tour Operator.

Philippines, though categorized as a third world country, is very rich in natural resources. We have extensive sea coast with good bays and harbors, navigable rivers and lakes, mountains and caves, land rich in minerals and agricultural products. Back in 70s, Philippines is one of the richest countries in Asia.

There are many factors why we are one of the poorest now. The Government seat has full of corrupt officials who never serve the interest of the Filipino people. Our Political system is one of the the few things that I can never proud of.

As requested by some of my blogger friends and readers, I will be featuring one of the most visited tourist spot in my place, Mount Pinatubo. This mountain is an active volcano located in the island of Luzon and can be found at the intersection of the borders of the provinces of Zambales, Pampanga and Tarlac. The volcano’s recent eruption in June 1991, two weeks after I was transferred here from Manila (I’m not a local here, I was assigned to work here). This eruption came after 500 years of dormancy and produced one of the largest and most violent eruptions of the 20th century. This resulted to dislocations of thousands of families, destroyed many towns, houses, churches and millions worth of properties and resources. One of our indigenous people, the Aetas, who were living peacefully at the foot of the mountain, were evacuated against their will but some stayed in the caves and just waited there to die.

I was sleeping peacefully on that early morning of June 15, 1991 when my room mates woke me up and told me that Mt. Pinatubo had erupted and when we go out we saw that big smoke of clouds circling the part where Mt. Pinatubo is located. The next days were storms of ash falls and we had to wear masks. Our company, International Wiring Systems Inc. (IWSPC), a subsidiary of a Japanese company Sumitomo Wiring Systems stopped its operation and sent us home. Most of us were pioneer employees of Kawasaki Motors Philippines from Sucat, Paranaque. We were offered a relocation to Luisita industrial Park to man and train the newly hired workers from different municipality in Tarlac province.

After a week, we were back to work but we have to sweep and help clean the ankle deep ashes surrounding the entire building. Those were the unforgettable story of my first weeks in Tarlac. We spent almost a month of clean up operation. This really sadden me but not as bad as those who lost their families and loved ones. Most of them never had the chance to recover even the remains as the ashes wiped out the entire towns and buried the houses turning the place into desert-like area.

More than a decade after, the trees started to grow, people started to build their houses again. That raging volcano turned into a beautiful tourist spot that is now visited by many tourists from parts of the world.

A local tourist from Manila will reach Mount Pinatubo in 5 hours depending upon the traffic and trekking speed. 2 hours travel time via private car, more than 1 hour off road ride and 2 hours trekking.

There are public bus going to North. To name a few are; Victory liner, 5 Star, Dagupan Bus, Philippine Rabbit heading to Dagupan or Baguio City. The exact destination is Capas, Tarlac. That is at least 200php- more or less $5.

When our company offered an early retirement program, I immediately grabbed it on October 2005. I started to work online and open a home-based printing shop. I personally designed the ID card of almost a hundred Mount Pinatubo Tour Guides and most of them were Aetas.

Pinatubo Local Tour Guide ID

Where to eat and stay at Tarlac

There are low cost hotels and transient houses at the adjacent areas surrounding Mount Pinatubo. Some range from 1000php/day- or at least $25/day but first class hotels range from $50 and up. Food from local food chains & restaurants like Jollibee, Max’s, KFC, Shakeys, Pizza Hut, & Mc Donalds range from $3-5/meal per person.

Hi Brian, thanks for visiting my blog. If you would start trekking say at 9 am, meaning at the starting point at Brgy. Sta. Juliana where you have to take a 4 x 4 ride, you’ll be at Mt. Pinatubo by 12 noon and you should leave the place by 3 to 4 pm.

….. and to Curt, thanks for the peep too.

No, there’s no Hotel at Sta. Juliana but there are some who offering transient service. No, it is not allowed to spend the night at Mt. Pinatubo but if you come in big groups, you can go to Mayor’s office and ask for permission. They will provide you with security assistance.

I hope this helps… you can also contact me if you’re here and I will endorse you personally to Municipal Tourism officer. Just email me or leave a note here.

Hi. Please provide info on clean budget place to stay near Pinatubo. I want to spend 2 nights prior & after the trek. I’ve heard of Jason Inn near Sta. Juliana. Aircon with private bath is my preference. Any contact no. of Jason Inn? Can you also recommend other hotel/hostel with contacts? Please send your reply to my email. Thanks.

hello! Were planning to go on vacation at Mt. Pinatubo dis Nov. for about 2-3days . can we ask wer we can stay on a nice yet affordable place to stay? and any contact person for us to inquire to arrange our activity at mt.Pinatubo.Pls reply to my email .Thanks! ; )

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Hi Im coming to Pinatubo around the end of November. I want to stay somewhere nearby which is clean and comfortable, luxury not important. Can you please provide me with some options. Can you also provide me with details on joining a tour to the top of the mountain

Hi Juliet. I have another email address for you coz the other one failed. To refresh, here’s my question again. Thanks.

Hi. Please provide info on clean budget place to stay near Pinatubo. I want to spend 2 nights prior & after the trek. I’ve heard of Jason Inn near Sta. Juliana. Aircon with private bath is my preference. Any contact no. of Jason Inn? Can you also recommend other hotel/hostel with contacts? Please send your reply to my email. Thanks.

hi juliet, nice blog. i was wondering if you don’t mind sending me an email regarding the packages too. we’re planning to go there this january. if possible, can i get a phone number to contact for hotels, guides and renting 4X4s? thanks in advance!

hi. sorry to bother you again but i haven’t received any emails yet about the packages. maybe hotmail is not working. anyways, if you don’t mind can you kindly send them to me again? i changed my email to a yahoo acct and you can also send it here: bluff00@yahoo.com. looking forward to it and specially interested in the mud spa, is that a hotel or just in mt. pinatubo? thanks again and happy new year! ^_^

Ok, I’ll re send it to your yahoo mail. Take note, you cannot do the mud spa and Mt. Pinatubo trek in one day coz it’s 2 different destination. For Mt. Pinatubo trek, you need whole day but you can avail siatsu massage or volcanic ash spa after trekking.

hi!
your blog is really full of interesting information.
my friends and i are planning to go up to pinatubo this summer and i would like to ask for the details and, of course, the budget.
thanks a lot. hope to hear from you soon.

From Sta. Juliana, Capas, Tarlac, all 24 of us in the group rode 4×4 vehicles to the jump-off site. The bumpy and dusty off-road trip took around an hour. Then we hiked to the crater lake for 2 and a half hours.

If you’ve never been to Mt. Pinatubo, you should go there one day. The journey up is a thrilling adventure. The physical exertion is not too taxing (no slopy trail) and the sights are breathtaking especially the crater lake. As for me, I enjoyed the long walk treading on volcanic debris and crossing a shallow river of cool water several times. Of course, the fun of taking pictures is a given.

A limiting factor in Mt. Pinatubo is the expense. To make it easier financially, arranging for vehicles ahead of time is recommended. To make it more convenient, however, you may opt to go for the tour packages,if you want to go there,then you can do online booking

I already sent the details in your inbox, the email you used when you sign you comment here in my blog. You can also visit http://pinatubotrek.blogspot.com for updated Mt. Pinatubo package rates, inclusions and itineraries. This is also my blog exclusive for Mount Pinatubo Tour Guiding service.

Hello Juliet,
May I ask the contact information: telephone numbers and addresses if possible of Jason’s inn and other inns offering an overnight stay near Bgy. Sta. Juliana? I plan to stay 2 nights. Thank you in advance. Regards, Millie

Thank you for the visit. I don’t have a number of those inns as i’m not a local resident of that area. My home is an hour drive from that place. I usually book my guests at the hotels in Tarlac City or Luisita and we usually go at Mount Pinatubo entrance before 6am via private van. I may suggest that you call PLDT directory assistance.

Hi. we will be going to pinatubo on the 28th of november from zambales. i would like to know if there is a place where we can leave our things when we go to the crater? i have been hearing about jason’s inn. how much does a room cost? thank you!

Hi!, can you recommend us a transient home at Sta Juliana (Jason inn?), we plan to trek mt. pinatubo april 10 but we will leave manila april 9 – we need accomodation for 4 person on the ight of april 9 , do you also have tour package for the trek? Thanks

Hello. Just a query, if Im coming from San Agustin Pampanga 8am off to Capas, and then just to view a few hours the site-Mt Pinatubo, where can my group stay and relax, sit down or have some drinks with the good view for photos. We only have until 12noon from 8am. Thanks!

Mount Pinatubo Trip is a whole day activity that starts at 5:30 to 6:00am.
Pampanga to final dispatching area is roughly 1.5 hours drive then you will transfer to 4wd jeep that will travel to the base of Mount Pinatubo for less than 2 hours via off road terrain. From the base, you need to trek the 7km trail to reach the crater lake and this is roughly 2 hours and maybe shorter or longer depending upon your trekking speed. This time estimates, it is impossible to beat your 12 noon target. By the way, this is a very old post and if you need new information regarding Mount Pinatubo, please visit our official blog,http://www.pinaykeypoint.org

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